Parker v. Department of Corrections
- Lewis Liman
- 1:20-cv-09408
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Devorn Parker v. Commissioner Cynthia Brann, Chief Judge McMahon ordered Parker to pay fees or submit forms to proceed.
Devorn Parker had to pay the required fees or submit the required forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal without prejudice; the defendants were not required to respond at this stage.
What happened
Devorn Parker, who was incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil case without paying the required fees or submitting forms to proceed without prepayment. The court gave him 30 days to pay $400 or submit a signed application and authorization allowing installment deductions from his account.
The order stated that no summons would issue yet and that the case would be dismissed without prejudice if Parker did not comply. It also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order on November 16, 2020. The order addressed filing-fee and authorization requirements; it did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
The detailed version
- Parker v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:20-cv-09408
- Lewis Liman
- Nov. 16, 2020
Background
Devorn Parker, who was incarcerated at the Vernon C. Bain Center and proceeded without a lawyer, filed this civil action without paying the filing fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Parker had filed the complaint with 49 other detainees, but the claims were later separated into individual cases.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment and a prisoner authorization. If that application is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a prisoner granted that status.
The court ordered Parker, within 30 days, to either pay the $400 or submit the required application and authorization labeled with docket number 20-CV-9408 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Parker a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
Disposition
The order stated that the action would be dismissed without prejudice if Parker failed to comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Parker's claims against the defendants. Chief Judge Colleen McMahon signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.